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RECRUITMENT HAS BEGUN for a team to take on an “opportunity like no other” living and working in Antarctica, where they will have no access to wifi or running water and tackle jobs including a daily penguin count.
The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) has launched its latest five-month opening for some of the most remote jobs in the world at Port Lockroy on Goudier Island, Antarctica, located almost 15,000 kilometres from the UK and Ireland.
The charity needs new recruits to look after the premises at the outpost – which marks its 80th anniversary this year and is home to the world’s most southern Post Office.
The team will be responsible for caring for the flagship site, running the Post Office and gift shop, maintaining artefacts at the museum at Bransfield House, and conducting daily counts to protect the colony of gentoo penguins.
UKAHT is looking for individuals with a keen sense of adventure and a love of Antarctica to take on the role.
There are five jobs available including base leader, postmaster and wildlife monitor.
The charity is also searching for two conservation carpenters to restore parts of Bransfield House following a period of heavy snow.
New recruits will need to be resilient, physically fit and environmentally aware.
UKAHT chief executive Camilla Nichol said the positions are “incredibly popular” and attracted a record number of applicants last year.
Nichol said: “We are excited to offer an opportunity like no other, living in a landscape that makes you feel pure awe and wonder and working at Port Lockroy – the birthplace of the British Antarctic Survey – where pioneering generations have gone before us making groundbreaking discoveries about our world.
“Last year we received a record number of applications for just four roles based on Goudier Island, so these positions are incredibly popular.
“This is also a really exciting season to be working at Port Lockroy as we will be celebrating its 80th anniversary.
“In 1944, Operation Tabarin – a secret Second World War mission – established Port Lockroy as the first British base in Antarctica and marked the start of British scientific research on the continent.
“Our contributions to Antarctic climate research, mapping and geology can be traced back to that moment and this year’s team will be bringing this rich history to life for visitors from around the world.”
The current Port Lockroy team of postmaster Clare Ballantyne, wildlife monitor Mairi Hilton, shop manager Natalie Corbett and base leader Lucy Bruzzone said in a joint statement: “We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend this time in Antarctica caring for this important heritage site and seeing the seasonal changes in the amazing scenery and wildlife,” they said.
“It is a beautiful place that has inspired us all to reflect on the importance of protecting this unique landscape and its heritage, and to consider what impact our actions at home may have on this very special environment.”
Applicants need to apply by 26 March, while those looking to take on the role of conservation carpenter will need to submit applications by 12 April.
Successful candidates will live and work at Port Lockroy from November until March 2024, while conservation carpenters will arrive at the site in January 2024 for six to eight weeks.
Most of the commenters on here could start with English …
And most of the journalists too…..
Surely Irish is the most difficult language to learn? 12 years of it in school and most Irish people can manage ‘an bhfuil cead agam dul amach?’
The system/teachers/parents are the problem, not the language.
It can only be described as an abject failure Colin, and the insistence of the Dept of Ed and Teachers to continue with curriculum in its present form speaks volumes for the lack of professionalism and apathy they have.
Sorry, I should have put a sarcasm warning on my post.
I’ve been studying it 15 years and I’m still not great. Studying it from Junior Infants to my first year in college. I’ll keep going though l, desperately want to be fluent.
Do you restrict your efforts to the prescribed curriculum?
Where’s German?
To the left of Polish.
Ein grossen bier bitter!
*ein großes Bier bitte!
Dutch or africaans are well up there amongst the easiest.
I begun studying French there a few weeks ago. Amazed at how many English words came from French.
Michel Tomas is the man! Such an easy way to soak it up before learning how to write it down. The same way everyone learns when they are kids.
Ye I’m using his cds for spanish at the moment. They’re brilliant. You really feel you’re actually getting somewhere with them. My girlfriend used his italian cds for a few wks before going on holidays last yr and was able to communicate no problem. Although she’s able to pick up languages very easily. As for irish I had two brilliant teachers in my life who made it their duty to make sure we actually learned irish and not jist covered the curriculum. In 5th and 6th in primary and 5th and 6th year I had amazing irish teachers and with three trips to irish college I was almost fluent leaving school…..lost tons of it now though!
Michel Tomas is the man”
Dead right – his courses are brilliant . He once described English as French – badly pronounced .
Also that once u know how to use verbs – the rest is just vocabulary – but that was not the way it was in schools .
Maybe things have changed ??
The Problem with teaching Irish is the emphasis on grammar- instead of getting to know what is useful everyday .
Here Barry there’s a great app called Duolingo if you never heard of it, check it out its good for the basics.
Cheers Phil. I’ll check that out.
And memrise app
Chinese word for small horse? Ty ni po ni..
Best way is to immerse yourself in a language, came to Spain 8 years ago with no idea of Spanish to an area where no one speaks English and find sometimes I forget how to speak English bit awkward when I go home on holidays and speak to my family in Spanish
Everyone goes on about Peig and how miserable her poetry was. I did my leaving in 99′ and can’t even remember that Peig stuff thankfully,perhaps it wasn’t covered in my particular school, otherwise I daydreamed my way through it like I did for most of my schooldays :)
Peig was taken of the curriculum around ’92/’93.
And it was a book not poetry. You’re lucky you weren’t subjected to the mind torture of Peig and her woe is me and my 25 children who died choking on a potato while shteeling a bundy because it’s certainly something you would never forget for all the wrong reasons.
I did Peig for my leaving in ’08!
When I was in school Spanish was for the wasters, French for the cool cats and German for the serious people who wanted to do business studies or commerce or some such rubbish. My how wrong we all were. Shoulda took Spanish as it’s probably the most useful one for the holiers.
Would love an objective measure of how difficult Geailge is to learn.
Floods in China. …pee too long
I used pimsleur for dutch, its purely audio and very effective, but also very boring.
I used pimsleur for Cantonese and learned exactly enough to keep the subordinates questioning how much I really understood.
I do want to learn a language as it so happens. Its been four years since I did my leaving and I had a reasonable standard of French then so I figure it makes most sense to try and refresh that. Anyone have any suggestions about books, websites or other resources to help?
Check out Benny Lewis website, an Irish guy fluent in 8 languages. Fluentin3months.com He’s great, a breath of fresh air.
Travellers should be listed….
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=497379217027238&set=vb.495096143922212&type=2&theater
Ya junkies basyard ya
Im in Dubai and trying have tried learning Arabic. Its a pity I haven’t taken to it compared to other languages.. but the Arabic script is so difficult to read. I’ve picked up a few common phrases though..
Clearly Dutch should be on the list too?!
I think learning a language helps if you listen to music in the language you are trying to learn, that’s why I find Turkish so easy compared to other languages
There is surprisingly no mention of Esperanto here. Esperanto is a planned language which belongs to no one country or group of states. Using it brings speakers of different mother tongues together without having to resort to English or a strong regional language.
I find the French verb book “501 verbs” really good for verb conjugation which is key in french. Its only a couple of euro to purchase second hand on Amazon and it also comes in German and Spanish
have your say